ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603220081
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and Knight-Ridder/Tribune
The House overwhelmingly approved a tough crackdown on illegal immigration Thursday night, but struck from the bill a series of new restrictions on the number and type of legal immigrants allowed in the country.
The 333-87 vote, the first major congressional action on immigration in a decade, came after lawmakers said voters are clamoring for no-nonsense measures against illegal immigrants but don't want to roll up the nation's welcome mat to those seeking lawful entry.
All Virginia congressmen voted for the bill.
It would double the U.S. Border Patrol by adding 5,000 agents over five years; crack down on smugglers of aliens, document forgers and illegal aliens who overstay temporary visas; bar members of terrorist organizations and set up an 800-number in five states that employers could call to check whether job hunters were eligible to work in the United States.
``Eight out of 10 Americans polled say, `Deal with the problem of illegal immigration before you touch legal immigration,''' said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who cosponsored the amendment deleting the restrictions on legal immigrants.
``It is fundamentally wrong to take the justifiable anger about our failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration and piggyback on top of that anger a drastic ... cut in permanent legal immigration, a cause and a force that has been good for this country,'' he said.
The White House on Thursday took particular aim at one provision - attached Wednesday night - that would let states deny public education to illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court in 1982 struck down a Texas law that sought to deny education to illegal immigrants, but supporters of the provision feel that the current court would be disposed to allow such restrictions.
The Clinton administration has indicated it can accept an immigration bill with some changes to the House version, but White House spokesman Mike McCurry labeled the public school provision, adopted at the urging of Speaker Newt Gingrich, a ``nutty idea.''
If signed into law, the bill also would:
Require some immigrants to pass special tests to prove they know how to speak English.
Block illegal immigrants from getting most public services, including welfare, Medicaid and Medicare.
Bar from immigration for life anyone caught entering the United States illegally.
Another provision would require that if a U.S. company replaces an American worker with a foreigner, it must pay the new worker 110 percent of the American's earnings. Proponents say that language would let companies who need them hire foreign workers temporarily, while providing a financial disincentive to importing cheaper foreign labor.
This year's presidential primary campaign gave a high-profile boost to the drive to stop illegal immigration. California Gov. Pete Wilson, before he dropped out of the GOP race, and candidate Pat Buchanan made it part of their campaigns. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole - who clinched the GOP nomination this week - has said he favors a ``modest, temporary'' reduction in legal immigration.
Before the House passed the measure Thursday, it voted 242-180 to reject creation of a 250,000-person guest worker program sought by agriculture interests. The administration had warned the provision could prompt a veto. The House also rejected 357-59 a bid to expand the current guest worker program from 17,000 to 100,000 people.
By eliminating the legal immigration limits, the House also wiped out a controversial amendment it passed Wednesday with Gingrich's active support that would have required some English proficiency for skill-based immigrants and those from countries that rarely send people here.
Also erased were provisions that would have cut legal immigration from the 800,000-per-year level to about 700,000 a year for the next five years and to 560,000 after that. It also deleted provisions that would have made more visas available for spouses and minor children of legal U.S. residents while ending the program that allows those residents to bring siblings and most adult children into the country.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB